Today marks the 38th day since I asked the Dept. of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C., for an on-the-record official to discuss why disability compensation cases were being transferred from Baltimore and Philadelphia to Wilmington and other northeast Veterans Benefits Administration offices last year, increasing Wilmington’s backlog – which continues to grow despite an overall national trend in the opposite direction.

We went to VA in Washington because Wilmington is essentially a satellite of the larger Philadelphia office and has no spokesman. Philadelphia does, but the office is only occasionally responsive and has been completely non-responsive on the why of this issue.

On Dec. 17, a VA public affairs officer in Washington offered me an off-the-record background briefing on the issue. That means I couldn’t quote anything said. More to the point, it meant that I might learn a lot but that VA was not going to offer up an official to publicly account for the growing backlog at Wilmington.

Agencies in Washington love to offer background to reporters, who will often take it in the absence of nothing to give their readers. Backgrounders, however, lack the credibility the words gain coming from an identifiable public official from an agency.

In VA’s case, it’s the height of arrogance – and a lack of responsiveness that is an insult to every veteran left waiting at Wilmington.

The backlog is an important issue. Veterans waiting for Wilmington to process their compensation cases are having to wait even longer because the caseload has grown. These are folks who are claiming service-related injuries or maladies that in many cases interfere with their ability to fully function – to hold a job, among other challenges. For them, compensation isn’t some sort of bonus. It’s part of the nation’s payback for their service – absent which they wouldn’t have the injury or malady.

When I asked in mid-November for an explanation, Wilmington’s backlog had grown from 654 to 903 since March 30, a span of time when VA’s national backlog had fallen from 569,547 to 382,473. (It’s since ticked up again, to 400,546.)

According to the latest weekly report from VA, dated Jan. 21, Wilmington’s 903 has grown over the past two months to 1,050.

Last summer, VA told me that a major reason for the growth at Wilmington was that 774 cases were “brokered” – government-speak for transferring cases from one VBA to another – to Wilmington from Baltimore (262) and Philadelphia (512) during fiscal year 2013. (I was also told by the Philadelphia Regional Office that 300 cases with pending appeals were sent to Philadelphia because Wilmington lacked a proper review officer.) According to e-mails provided by the Philadelphia Regional Office, Baltimore brokered cases to five other VBA offices as well. Its backlog fell between March 30 and mid-November from 15,661 to 6,608.

It’s apparent that VA doesn’t want to talk about this.

My most recent query on the backlog issue topic was sent to VA in Washington Nov. 19. That got an immediate reply: “We’ll find out.” On Nov. 25, I was sent some background on the practice of brokering and a promise that “we’re checking now to see who could be available to talk.” On Dec. 3, I asked again for that interview. On Dec. 17, I was sent a note with an apology for not getting back to me “last week,” and the background briefing offer. I countered that I wanted an accountable official who could talk on the record.

Airmen can wear squadron “morale” T-shirts and patches on Fridays! Qualification badges can be worn on cammies! Athletic shoes can be any color. And so can cell phones.

What’s next? Blue jean Mondays?

We keed, we keed. This is all good stuff.

The reason for the changes, according to a press release, was sort of squishy – “with a goal of not financially burdening Airmen.” Huh? How about, “We decided these uniform rules were stupid.”

Ok. Not going to happen. But there’s nothing I can see in the changes, made Jan. 17 but only announced publicly on Tuesday, that would require any spending, save for a few bucks airmen used to have to spend on unit patch sewing.

In short:

Morale T-shirts/patches representing individual squadrons that were worn in the past to increase unit pride are now authorized to wear on Fridays. Squadron color T-shirts may be worn with the Airman Battle Uniform, or ABU, or flight suit when on base or on-station during unit temporary duty assignments and contingency deployments.

Also authorized is the on-base Friday wear of morale patches and name tags that have tasteful nicknames or call signs on flight suits. No Navy Tailhook shenanigans, please. Unit commanders have approval authority for morale patches and name tag naming conventions.

Earned Air Force and other services’ badges are authorized to wear on ABUs.

The Air Force physical training uniform no longer has color restrictions for athletic shoes. Airmen are now also authorized to wear black socks with their athletic shoes.

Finally, cell phones no longer have to be black, as long as they’re not worn on the uniform or attached to a purse.

In a letter dated Jan. 16, Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Tim Walz, D-Minn., told Gen. Ray Odierno he was “irresponsible” in telling a National Press Club audience Jan. 5 that capabilities of the active Army and the Army National Guard “are not interchangeable” when explaining why he thought the National Guard wouldn’t be capable of handling more active-duty responsibilities if the Army suffered deep personnel cuts.

Troops from the Delaware National Guard take part in an escalation of force exercise at the Fort Indiantown Gap Training facility, Pa. //ROBERT CRAIG/THE NEWS JOURNAL

“Our National Guard, [which has] done an incredible job in the last 10 years, trains 39 days a year,” Odierno said in remarks widely viewed as disparaging.

The two congressmen, co-chairs of the House National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, addressed their letter both to Odierno and Gen. Frank Grass, director of the National Guard, who defended his service at the Press Club two days later, saying, “the idea of doing 39 days a year, to me, doesn’t exist any more.”

But the letter’s criticisms were clearly aimed at Odierno, calling his remark about 39 days of training “extremely disingenuous.”

The letter called upon the military to have an “open and honest dialogue” with Congress as discussions continue over roles and missions in light of automatic budget reductions slated to cut into Pentagon spending over the next nine years.

“This is not to advocate one component over the other,” the congressmen wrote, “but it is important for the services and Congress to have an open and honest dialogue on the force structure of the Armed Forces. It is irresponsible to suggest that the Army National Guard and Reserve Forces are not interchangeable and less capable to accomplish our national security objectives abroad.”

Copies were sent to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army Secretary John McHugh.

Rep. John Carney today introduced three bills aimed at increasing congressional oversight of the National Security Agency’s surveillance tactics.

Congressman John Carney addresses families and the 70 members of Company A, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, a Black Hawk helicopter troop transport unit based at the Army Aviation Support Facility in New Castle during a departure ceremony Tuesday November 19, 2013. The unit is deploying to Kuwait but will support the war in Afghanistan. // SUCHAT PEDERSON/THE NEWS JOURNAL

“The ongoing revelations about the NSA’s data collection tactics are disturbing and alarming,” Carney, a Democrat and Delaware’s sole House representative, said in a press release. “While I support giving intelligence agencies the tools they need to fight terrorism, it can’t be at the expense of our civil liberties. Going forward, Congress needs to do a better job monitoring the NSA’s activities to ensure that Americans’ privacy interests are protected.”

The three bills were summarized by Carney’s office as follows:

The National Security Agency Data Collection Review Act of 2014, H.R. 3880, sunsets both Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the two main statutes governing the NSA’s surveillance activities, on December 31, 2014. Causing these programs to expire at the end of this year will force Congress to re-examine them and give members the opportunity to make changes to the NSA’s authorities in light of recent revelations. The bill would also move up the sunset date of the roving wiretaps provision of the PATRIOT Act. The bill would not affect the “lone wolf” provision, which is not technically part of the PATRIOT Act, but has been grouped in with the same reauthorization cycle. That provision would remain effective until June 1, 2015. Representatives Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, are original cosponsors.

The National Security Agency Accountability Act, H.R. 3882,requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to produce an annual report, including one unclassified summary, analyzing the effectiveness of NSA programs for the preceding fiscal year. This annual report would include the following information: statistics from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court detailing the number of times the NSA applied for warrants, the number of times they received those warrants, any violations the NSA committed of U.S. surveillance laws, a description of actions taken in response to these violations, and a description of the minimization procedures the NSA used to ensure Americans’ privacy when carrying out each provision. This will ensure that only those surveillance activities that are necessary and effective will remain in place, so that the only information the government collects on innocent Americans is information that is crucial to our national security.

The Expansion of National Security Agency Oversight Act, H.R. 3881, expands the dissemination of its reports to Congress on NSA programs. It would add the House and Senate Armed Services and House and Senate Foreign Affairs/Foreign Relations committees to the list of recipients for reports provided by the Attorney General. Currently, only members of the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees receive these reports. The reports detail the use of electronic surveillance by the NSA. They also cover the NSA’s use of the business records provision and its investigations of non-U.S. persons. Connolly and Hanabusa are original cosponsors.

Carney also supports a series of recommendations being considered by the White House, according to the press release. Carney wants to find more limited ways to collect metadata, and less expansive ways of storing it. That could possibly be accomplished, he said, by leaving the data in the hands of the private companies that collect it.

Carney has also co-sponsored legislation that would make Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court proceedings more transparent. H.R. 3159, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., would allow a public advocate to argue on behalf of privacy interests during court deliberations. The goal of that legislation, Carney said, is making sure the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judges are “adequately weighing privacy concerns when determining whether to authorize government access to private data.”

And the Defense Department’s R&D futurists have helpfully sent along a sort of translation for a recently granted project whose academic description was sort of mind-boggling – as is a lot of DARPA’s work.

Every weekday at 5, the Defense Department sends out a list of all awarded contracts of $5 million or greater. Tuesday’s list included this intriguing $11.2 million awardto a Pittsburgh firm by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – the futuristic DoD R&D folks who brought you stealth aircraft and the Internet:

“Agentase LLC, Pittsburgh, Pa., has been awarded an $11,206,720 cost contract. The work will support the DARPA’s In Vivo Nanoplatforms program (IVN). IVN seeks to develop new classes of adaptable nanoparticles for persistent, distributed, unobtrusive physiologic and environmental sensing as well as the treatment of physiologic abnormalities, illness and infectious disease. Work will be performed in Pittsburgh, Pa., (44.59 percent); Cambridge, Mass., (8.04 percent); Davis, Calif., (40.92 percent) and College Station, Texas, (6.45 percent). The estimated completion date is April 14, 2015. Fiscal 2013 research and development funds are being obligated at time of award. The contracting activity is DARPA, Arlington, Va., (HR0011-14-C-0030).”

After etching away the carbon material left from the use of intermediary polymers to organize the metal nanoparticles, the platinum structure features large (0.01 micrometers) hexagonal pores. The illustration depicts the completed porous platinum structure. This nanostructured platinum is the product of a radically innovative method for shaping metals developed by Cornell researchers. These porous metal structures have the capability to transform the development of catalysts for fuels cells and materials for microchip fabrication. // Image courtesy of Scott Warren & Uli Wiesner, Cornell University

(Image is for illustration only.)

Micro-bugs that can sense external and bodily activity? I’ll try to check with DARPA. But I’d welcome a call from a local researcher who can translate for the rest of us.

The translation, courtesy of Timothy Broderick, the DARPA manager of the project:

“The aim of this research program is to develop small particles that help diagnose and treat warfighter illness and injury,” Broderick said. “For example, one technical approach coats nanoparticles with proteins that help detect and neutralize disease causing pathogens and toxins.”

IVN is a basic research program, Broderick said, “and does not include human use or clinical trials.”

The award for the most exemplary flight safety record of all Air Force major commands during Fiscal Year 2012 goes to: the Air National Guard.

The Order of Daedalians presents the Major General Benjamin D. Foulois Memorial Award annually to the Air Force Major Command that achieved the best flying safety record as determined by the Air Force chief of staff.

The Air Force lagged a bit in making the announcement of the award, given during the Daedalians’ October convention in San Diego. After all, we’re now in fiscal year 2014. That’s not quite “recently,” as the press release stated …

Air Force Brig. Gen. R. Scott Williams, commander of the Air National Guard Readiness Center at Joint Base Andrews, Md., shows off the Air Guard’s Major General Benjamin D. Foulois Memorial Award for fiscal year 2012. // Photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force.

The Air Guard, which includes 93 wings, flew 1,213 aircraft more than 348,000 flight hours in FY12. This accounted for 30 percent of the combat Air Force’s mission. There were 12 unique missions with high mishap potential; not a single fighter Class A mishap – one involving a loss of life, permanent disability or a destroyed aircraft – in 139,000 flight hours was recorded, according to the Air Force.

The Order of Daedalians was formed in 1921 to honor the sacrifices made by the first American pilots. The Daedalians began presenting annual awards for excellence in flight in 1938.

The search has begun for the next leader of the Pentagon-sponsored group that promotes cooperation between Reserve Component service members and their civilian employers and helps resolve conflicts arising from employees’ military commitments.

The state chair of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is an official Department of Defense position that carries the protocol equivalent of a military two-star flag or general officer, according to Christine Kubik, Delaware ESGR employer support specialist. The chair serves as many as two three-year terms in the role.

The current chair is Frank Ingraham, Jr., whose three-year term ends Sept. 30. Ingraham has chosen not to seek a second term, Kubik said.

Suggestions are welcome, Kubik says. In addition, ESGR seeks nominations from interested “proven leaders” who have the necessary skills for the job. Those are:

a. Demonstrated leadership
b. Time available to execute the ESGR mission as defined by the ESGR Strategic Plan
c. Motivational, organizational and communication skills
d. Understanding of the importance of National Guard and Reserve missions and understanding of business and industry
e. Business experience (including basic information technology (IT) skills). Prior experience with volunteer organizations
f. Commitment and willingness to lead the organization
g. Ability to plan and organize the activities of a large number of volunteers
h. Understanding of the strategic planning process
i. Understanding of the Joint Ethics Regulations (Reference K) as they apply to representing Department of Defense (DoD) – specifically, the use of appropriated funds, gifts, travel, and relationships with non-DoD organizations (public sector, private sector, and nonprofit organizations).

To be considered for selection by the search committee, each interested candidate should submit their nomination package, to include the following items:

Biographical summary or Resume

A letter stating his/her willingness to accept the position, reason(s) for interest in serving, and thoughts and plans for leading the Delaware ESGR state committee

The weekend news that the Iraqi city of Fallujah had fallen to al-Qaida forces came as a big gut-punch to U.S. and other coalition troops who served there, or know someone who did.

Iraqis in Fallujah celebrate after killing four U.S. contractors in March 2004.// Photo: Khalid Mohammed, AP

It was the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of the Iraq war. Ultimate U.S. control came at a high cost: In two 2004 campaigns alone, 146 U.S. troops were killed and 1,036 were wounded. Fallujah remained under nominal Iraqi control after the withdrawal of U.S. troops was completed in December 2011. Insurgent violence has escalated since that time, culminating in the recent insurgent uprising.

We’ve talked to some Fallujah veterans and want to talk to some more – particularly any from Delaware or Delaware-based units – to get their thoughts on what’s happening. If you want to share those thoughts and add to the conversation, please contact me at (302) 324-2812 or bmcmichael@delawareoneline.com today.

The New Year will make similar budget-related demands on the other service branches – despite the two years of partial relief from sequestration granted as part of the compromise two-year budget bill signed into law by President Obama Dec. 26.

The Air Force, however, has led the pack in announcing steps it plans to take given pre-sequestration Pentagon spending cuts, the end of the war in Afghanistan and the possibility that seven years of full sequestration cuts could follow 2015’s partial relief.

Members of the military may be viewing 2014 with trepidation.

The changes and challenges facing the Air Force were laid out nicely in a year-end report by sister Gannett newspaper Air Force Times. Foremost among them is the reduction of personnel – all told, the total cost of which accounts for almost half of all defense spending.

The Air Force has announced 18 voluntary and involuntary force-reduction measures to shape “the biggest drawdown since the end of the Cold War,” Air Force Times reported. “Some of those measures — such as enlisted retention boards, a quality force review board and a broader selective early retirement board for officers — are being used for the first time in the Air Force in 2014.”

How serious is the Air Force about slimming down? According to Air Force Times, it’s “urging airmen interested in leaving to take temporary early retirement authority payments — also known as 15-year retirements — or other voluntary measures to lessen the chances other airmen will be forced out.”

If the sequester continues, thousands of airmen could be hitting the streets, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh has said.

Fewer troops means more work for those still on the job.

Meanwhile, the F-35 program is expected to see “growth in production and training in 2014,” according to Air Force Times, while officials claim the cost of each joint strike fighter will fall.

One can only hope. Even after restructuring efforts begun in 2010, the near-$400 billion program will cost an average of $12.6 billion annually through 2037 – spending the non-partisan Government Accountability Office in a March report called “an unprecedented demand on the defense procurement budget.

“Maintaining this level of sustained funding will be difficult in a period of declining or flat defense budgets and competition with other ‘big ticket items’ such as the KC-46 tanker and a new bomber program,” GAO said.

Hovering over all of this in the coming fiscal year will be a highly anticipated report on the future structure of the Air Force.

The National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force, formed by Congress in the fiscal 2013 defense bill, held dozens of meetings and listened to proposals on money-saving ideas such as combining the National Guard and Reserve, and moving the bulk of the Air Force infrastructure to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, Air Force Times reported.

The commission’s report is due to Obama and Congress in February.

The commission is already carrying weight in Congress, Air Force Times reported, with lawmakers pressuring the Air Force to hold off on making force structure changes until it’s is released.

Back in my childhood, Santa was this mysterious guy who magically delivered the goods before we woke up on Christmas morning.

He’s still pretty mysterious. But as millions of kids have discovered in the computer age, his Christmas Eve travels around the globe can be tracked, thanks to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. 25 million people around the world followed Santa’s journey in real-time on the web, on their mobile devices, by e-mail and by phone in 2012, the command says.

Actually, that’s not exactly true. The program began when a local newspaper ad directed children to call Santa directly. The number was a misprint and in true “War Games” fashion, callers reached the crew commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Operations Center. Since 1958, NORAD has carried on the tradition.

This is not, by the way, your tax dollars at work. The program is paid for by 55 corporate contributors, according to Navy Lt. Cmdr. Bill Lewis, a NORAD spokesman, and 1,250 volunteers will take childrens’ questions by phone, Facebook and Twitter, and handle the website and mobile “NORAD Santa” applications.

Santa has a broad understanding of current events and knows that unknown objects in the sky can alarm national defense organizations. So he makes sure to check in with NORAD to ensure that operators know where he’ll be on his dizzying journey around the Earth.

Santa Claus reviews his flight plan for his annual Christmas Eve trek across the globe in the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command Current Operations Center at the NORAD and NORTHCOM headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Sept. 26, 2013. // U.S. Air Force photo by Michael Kucharek

When the website goes live, other tracking methods via satellite, ground-based radar and “fighter jets” also spring to life, Lewis said. Sirius radio will also give a live-feed rundown of Santa’s journey.

Children ranging in age from 4 years old to early teens contact the “NORAD Tracks Santa” call center at 877-446-6723, Lewis said.

The military and civilian volunteers work in two-hour shifts from 3 a.m., Mountain Standard Time Dec. 24 to 3 a.m. Christmas day, he said. Responses are available in eight languages — English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese.

About this Blog

It’s all things military in Delaware: Dover AFB, the Army and Air National Guard and all veterans' issues - particularly VA health care and employer compliance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Questions, concerns or story tips? Contact me at bmcmichael@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2812.

About the author

Bill McMichael came to The News Journal in 2012 after 12 years with Gannett’s Military Times newspaper family; he has covered the military, from the Pentagon to ships at sea, for more than two decades. He's written about the Navy’s Tailhook scandal; racial integration of the military; the punishment of a whistle-blowing Navy SEAL; naval operations at the outset of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; sex trafficking outside U.S. bases in South Korea; medical malpractice; and military law.